Oof! How time flies.
Sooo yes, the album was released, and everyone on my mailing list (are YOU on my mailing list?) was invited to a Zoom party with Quincy Davis and myself and we had a really good time. Sure, it felt a little strange at first to have a "CD release party" without a performance or... a CD, but by the end of 90 minutes Quince and I really got to talk about the music and give our guests a far more personal reflection on the recording than one could offer during a performance.
As I mentioned above, I decided to have a digital-only release this time, something I haven't done before, but given the facts that a.) performing wasn't happening during the pandemic and b.) it is no longer the mid-90s, well, printing CDs just didn't make that much sense to me. I have to admit though, it feels weird, not having a thing at the end of all that time and effort. Imagine you've spent a lot of time crafting a beautiful little balloon, and you carry that balloon into the middle of a big, bustling city at night and just, release it. Sure, you know you're balloon is out there now, and someone will see it, but it just kinda feels like you're walking away with nothing to show for it. On the flip side, I'm quite happy to share my music with interested folks via the internet, happy to save some closet space, and happy ultimately to not be adding more unnecessary plastics into the world.
You may be asking "But James, how about printing vinyl? It's sooo cool!"
And you'd be right, it is so cool. And if there was a reality where artists who didn't/couldn't sell CDs where somehow able to magically create a market for their vinyl offerings, then yes, damn straight I'd order some. But I've talked to people who know about these things (aka Cory Weeds) and it just wouldn't make sense for me.
Anyways, I may yet print some CDs, but only for radio-play (apparently radio is still not down with receiving digital-only) so that some of those "balloons" I sent into the world had a more tangible result. In the meantime, if you haven't done so already, please enjoy "All the Flowers" on your preferred streaming service.
Thanks, JD